JP2002281116A - Foldable portable communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that opening a case for incoming call response is troublesome to a user in the conventional foldable portable communication apparatus, and that it is impossible to immediately know information about the incoming call opposite party, and incoming call is not noticed by the user, when a incoming call sound is set not to operate. SOLUTION: When incoming call is detected, a control part 15 rotates a motor 14 counterclockwise in the Fig.; the rotation is transmitted from a gear 16 to a gear 17; and an upper case part 11 pivots setting a shaft 13 as a center, in the direction leaving from a lower case part 12, and an opened state is obtained finally. When communication is ended, the control part 15 rotates the motor 14 clockwise in Fig. The upper case part 11 pivots setting the shaft 13 as the center, in a direction of approaching the lower case part 12. Finally a closed state (folded state) is obtained that the respective inside surfaces of the upper case part 11 and the lower case part 12 come into contact with each other. Thus the upper case part 11 is opened and closed automatically to the lower case part 12 by the control part 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foldable portable communication device, and more particularly to a foldable portable communication device such as a foldable portable telephone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a portable communication device such as a portable telephone or a portable terminal has been adopted because a folding mechanism can easily enlarge a display unit and can be folded to enhance portability. ing. In a foldable mobile phone, when not in use, the upper casing and the lower casing are folded in such a manner that their inner surfaces are in close contact with each other. And display part are arranged, and on the inner surface of the lower housing part,
For example, a microphone for transmission and various operation keys are arranged.

[0003] On the other hand, when a portable telephone receives a call, a method of notifying a user of the call is conventionally called a ring tone, vibration by a motor, or blinking of a light emitting element, which appeals to human hearing, touch, and vision, respectively. Is mentioned. this house,
The most easily perceived incoming notification method is based on a ring tone. However, in recent years, manners of mobile phones have been required,
It has been increasingly used in situations where self-restraint of ringtone alerts is required. If your phone does not ring,
Incoming calls are notified by vibration of a motor and blinking of a light emitting element.

[0004]

However, in the conventional foldable portable telephone, when an incoming call is received, the upper housing and the lower housing are usually folded in such a manner that their inner surfaces are in close contact with each other. There is a problem that an operation of opening the housing for a response is required, and the operation makes the user feel troublesome. At the time of an incoming call, it is desirable for the user to keep the housing open for reasons such as wanting to respond immediately.

In a conventional foldable mobile phone,
There is also a problem that the information on the called party cannot be immediately known because the display unit cannot be seen if the mobile phone is folded. A mobile terminal capable of disposing a second display unit on the back of the housing and notifying information of the called party has been developed, but detailed information cannot be reported due to limited display performance. .

Further, in a conventional foldable portable telephone,
When the ring tone is not set, the incoming call is notified by the vibration of the motor or the flashing of the light emitting element. However, it is difficult for the user to notice the incoming call only by the vibration of the motor or the flashing of the light emitting element. There is also.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a foldable portable communication device capable of immediately opening a casing when an incoming call is received.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a foldable portable communication device which can surely notify a user of an incoming call even in a case where a ringing tone is not set.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an upper casing having at least a display section disposed on an inner surface thereof, and a lower casing having at least an operation section disposed on an inner surface thereof. The upper and lower housings are connected so that the inner surfaces of the upper housing and the lower housing are in a closed state in which they are in close contact with each other or in an open state in which the inner surfaces are separated from each other. In a portable communication device, one of an upper housing and a lower housing is rotated to open or close, and an opening and closing mechanism is driven. Driving means for bringing the body part into one of the closed state or the open state, the incoming call detecting means, and when receiving notification of incoming call detection by the incoming call detecting means,
The driving means includes a control means for controlling the driving means so that the upper housing part and the lower housing part are opened by the opening / closing mechanism.

In this invention, when the notification of the incoming call detection is received, the driving means controls the driving means so as to open the upper casing and the lower casing by the opening / closing mechanism. At times, the upper housing and the lower housing can be automatically opened.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention further comprises communication end detecting means, and the control means controls the driving means in response to the communication end notification from the communication end detecting means, and the driving means controls the driving means. The upper casing and the lower casing are closed by an opening / closing mechanism. According to the present invention, the drive unit controls the drive unit so as to close the upper housing unit and the lower housing unit by the opening / closing mechanism when the communication end notification is received. The housing and the lower housing can be automatically closed.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a driving device comprising a motor whose rotation direction is controlled in accordance with the polarity of a driving current, wherein an opening and closing mechanism is mounted on a motor shaft of the motor. And a second gear formed on a part of the upper housing, integrally rotating with the rotation of the upper housing, and meshing with the first gear. When the control means receives the notification of the incoming call detection by the incoming call detection means, it supplies the drive current to the motor and changes the polarity of the drive current through the first and second gears by the rotation of the motor. A means is provided for controlling the rotation of the upper housing in a direction away from the lower housing.

Further, the present invention provides the above control means, comprising an open / close detection sensor for detecting an open / close state of the upper housing and the lower housing, wherein the upper housing is provided in the lower housing. On the other hand, supply of the drive current to the motor is stopped based on a detection signal output from the open / close detection sensor when the motor is opened to a predetermined position. According to the present invention, since the open state is detected by the open / close detection sensor, the upper housing portion can be always at a predetermined position with respect to the lower housing portion in the open state.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a power supply circuit for generating a drive current for the control means, and a secondary battery connected to the motor via the power supply circuit. When the housing is manually rotated, the motor is generated by the motor to charge the secondary battery. According to the present invention, the motor charges the secondary battery by the electric power generated by the motor when the upper casing is manually rotated, so that the power supply circuit can have a long life.

[0015]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of a foldable portable communication device according to the present invention. This embodiment is an example of a foldable mobile phone, and an upper housing 1 in which, for example, a receiving speaker and a display unit are arranged on an inner surface.
1 and a lower housing 12 on the inner surface of which an operation unit such as a microphone for transmission or various operation keys is disposed, is rotatably connected to a shaft 13 at each end. As a result, the inner surface of each of the upper housing 11 and the lower housing 12 is in a closed state (folded state) in which the inner surfaces of the upper housing 11 and the lower housing 12 are in close contact with each other, or an open state in which the respective inner surfaces are separated.

A motor 14 is provided in the lower housing 12.
And a control unit 15 for controlling the rotation direction of the motor 14. The gear 1 is provided on the motor shaft of the motor 14.
6, the central axis is fixed, and the gear 16 rotates integrally with the rotation of the motor 14 (the rotation of the motor shaft). This gear 16 is a gear 1 whose central axis coincides with a shaft 13 that rotatably couples the respective ends of the upper housing 11 and the lower housing 12.
7 is engaged. Since the gear 17 is formed at the end of the upper housing 11, it rotates integrally with the rotation of the upper housing 11.

As a result, when the motor 14 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing (this is referred to as positive rotation), the rotation is transmitted from the gear 16 to the gear 17, and the upper casing 11 is moved to the lower casing. It rotates about the shaft 13 in a direction away from the shaft 12 and is finally opened.

Conversely, when the motor 14 rotates clockwise in the drawing (this is referred to as reverse rotation), the rotation is transmitted from the gear 16 to the gear 17 and the upper housing 11 is moved to the lower housing 1.
2 and is rotated about the shaft 13 in the direction approaching 2, and is finally brought into a closed state (folded state) in which the inner surfaces of the upper housing section 11 and the lower housing section 12 are in close contact.

In this embodiment, the control unit 15 supplies a driving current flowing in a predetermined direction to the motor 14 so as to rotate the motor 14 forward when an incoming call is detected, and rotates the motor 14 reversely when the motor 14 is closed. A drive current is supplied to the motor 14 in the opposite direction. in this way,
In the present embodiment, the upper casing 11 is automatically opened and closed with respect to the lower casing 12 under the control of the controller 15.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the control unit 15. As shown in the figure, the control unit 15 includes a power supply circuit 21, a first switch 22, a second switch 23, a control circuit 24, an on-hook key 25, and an off-hook key 26.
And an open / close detection sensor 27. The motor 14 shown in FIG. 1 is supplied with a drive current from the second switch 23 as shown in FIG. Further, the wireless unit 28
Are connected to the control circuit 24.

The power supply circuit 21 supplies a drive current to the motor 14 via the first switch 22 and the second switch 23. The control circuit 24 controls the wireless unit 28 and controls the switch 22 for turning on / off the motor 14 and the switch 23 for determining the rotation direction of the motor 14. The off-hook key 25 is a button that is pressed when making or receiving a call, and the on-hook key 26 is a button that is pressed when ending a call or turning off the power of the mobile phone.

The open / close detection sensor 27 is, for example, a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a magnetic field of a magnet fixed to a predetermined position of the upper housing 11, and detects the magnetic field in the closed state because the magnet is closest to the above. The closed state is detected because it is possible, and the open state is detected because the magnetic field of the magnet cannot be detected during the open state.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Assuming that the mobile phone is in the incoming call waiting state (step 101 in FIG. 3), the control circuit 24 monitors whether there is an incoming call in the wireless unit 28 (step 102 in FIG. 3).
When the control circuit 24 receives the incoming call notification from the wireless unit 28, the mobile phone of this embodiment is set to a mode for automatically opening and closing the upper housing unit 11 and the lower housing unit 12 (automatic open / close mode). (Step 10 in FIG. 3)
3).

When the automatic opening / closing mode is not set, the control circuit 24 proceeds to an incoming call process in which the motor 14 is not controlled (step 104 in FIG. 3). At this time, the user manually opens the upper housing 11 to make it open, and then presses the off-hook key 26. When the control circuit 24 detects that the user has pressed the off-hook key 26, the control circuit 24 controls the radio unit 28 to start a call (step 105 in FIG. 3).
When it is detected that 5 has been pressed, the wireless unit 28 is controlled to end the call (step 106 in FIG. 3). As a result, a call termination process is performed (step 10 in FIG. 3).
7) Then, it shifts to the incoming call waiting state (step 10 in FIG. 3).
1). The operation when the automatic opening and closing mode is not set is the same as the conventional operation.

On the other hand, when the automatic opening / closing mode is set at the time of an incoming call, the control circuit 24 controls the switch 22 to be turned on so that the motor 14 rotates, and the drive current is supplied from the power supply circuit 21 through the switches 22 and 23 to the motor. 14
And the switch 23 controls the polarity of the drive current to rotate the motor 14 forward (step 108 in FIG. 3). Thereby, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, the direction in which the upper housing portion 11 that has been closed with the lower housing portion 12 separates from the lower housing portion 12 in accordance with the forward rotation of the motor 14. Then, rotation about the shaft 13 is started.

When the upper housing 11 continues to rotate and opens to a predetermined position, the open / close detection sensor 27 detects the open state and notifies the control circuit 24 of a detection signal. The power supply circuit 21 is controlled by turning off the switch 22.
The supply of the drive current from the motor to the motor 14 is stopped, and the rotation of the motor 14 is stopped (step 10 in FIG. 3).
9). Thereby, the user can automatically see the display unit on the inner surface of the upper housing unit 11, and
2 is in a fully open state in which the operation unit on the inner side surface can be operated without any trouble.

In this fully opened state, when the user presses the off-hook key 26 on the inner surface of the lower housing 12 and answers the incoming call, the control circuit 24 detects that the off-hook key 26 is pressed, and the control circuit 24 (Step 110 in FIG. 3). afterwards,
When detecting that the user has pressed the on-hook key 25 to end the call, the control circuit 24 controls the radio unit 28 to disconnect the call line (step 111 in FIG. 3).

Subsequently, the control circuit 24 performs a call termination process, controls the switch 22 to be turned on so that the motor 14 rotates, and a drive current is supplied from the power supply circuit 21 to the motor 14 through the switches 22 and 23. Then, the polarity of the driving current is controlled by the switch 23 to the polarity opposite to that at the time of the normal rotation, and the motor 14 is rotated in the reverse direction (step 112 in FIG. 3). Thereby, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, the direction in which the upper housing 11 that has been open with respect to the lower housing 12 approaches the lower housing 12 in response to the reverse rotation of the motor 14. Then, rotation about the shaft 13 is started.

When the upper housing 11 continues to rotate and its inner surface is brought into a closed state in which the inner surface of the lower housing 12 is in close contact with the inner housing,
The open / close detection sensor 27 detects the closed state and notifies the control circuit 24 of a detection signal. Based on this, the control circuit 24 controls the switch 22 to be turned off, and the drive current from the power supply circuit 21 to the motor 14 Is stopped, and the rotation of the motor 14 is stopped (step 113 in FIG. 3). Therefore,
When the on-hook key 25 is pressed after the end of the call, the foldable mobile phone is automatically brought into the folded state (closed state). Then, it returns to the incoming call waiting state again (step 101 in FIG. 3).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the automatic opening / closing mode is set at the time of an incoming call, the upper housing portion 11 is automatically opened and the display portion can be visually recognized. Can notify the user of the incoming call, so that the incoming call can be notified more reliably than in the case of notifying the incoming call by blinking of the light emitting element or the vibration of the motor. Since the number or the like is displayed, the notification information at the time of the incoming call can be promptly notified to the user, and further, the user does not need to open the housing.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of another embodiment of the foldable portable communication device according to the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those of FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.
In FIG. 4, the motor 14 is connected to the power supply circuit 2 in the control unit 15.
1 is connected to the secondary battery 31. Secondary battery 3
1 is provided in the lower housing portion 12.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the user manually rotates the upper housing 11 to bring the housing into the closed state or the open state, the rotational force is transmitted from the gear 17 to the gear 16 with the rotation of the upper housing 11. And
The rotation of the gear 16 causes the motor shaft of the motor 14 to rotate. The motor 14 generates a motor by rotating a motor shaft. The electric power generated by the motor power generation is supplied to the secondary battery 3 via the power supply circuit 21.
1 to charge it.

This embodiment is different from the embodiment shown in FIG.
In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the casing is automatically opened when an incoming call is received, and when the automatic opening / closing mode is not set, the motor 14 is used every time the upper casing 11 is manually rotated. Motor power generation is performed, and the secondary battery 31 is charged. Thereby, the life of the power supply circuit 21 can be extended.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be applied to other portable communication devices such as a foldable portable information terminal other than the foldable portable telephone.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the upper casing and the lower casing are automatically opened when an incoming call is received, the following features are provided. (1) Since a bright display screen can be shown to the user at the time of an incoming call, it is used by the visual notification of the incoming call on the display screen rather than the incoming call notification method in which the ring tone does not sound due to the blinking of the light emitting element or the vibration of the motor. The probability of noticing the incoming call to the person can be greatly improved. (2) When the user notices the incoming call, the display screen on which the number of the caller is displayed can be visually recognized, so that the notification information at the time of the incoming call can be transmitted more quickly. (3) Since the upper casing and the lower casing are automatically opened at the time of an incoming call, it is not necessary for a user to open the casing at the time of an incoming call, and operability and usability can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, a secondary battery is connected to the power supply circuit in the device, and the secondary battery is charged by causing the motor for the opening / closing mechanism to generate power when the upper housing is manually rotated. Therefore, the power supply circuit can have a long life, which is particularly effective for portable communication devices.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of one embodiment of a foldable portable communication device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a control unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of another embodiment of the foldable portable communication device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Upper housing part 12 Lower housing part 13 Axis 14 Motor 15 Control part 16, 17 Gear 21 Power supply circuit 22, 23 Switch 24 Control circuit 25 On-hook key 26 Off-hook key 27 Open / close detection sensor 28 Radio part 31 Secondary battery

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An upper housing portion having at least a display portion disposed on an inner surface thereof and a lower housing portion having at least an operation portion disposed on an inner surface thereof are rotatably coupled at respective ends. In a foldable portable communication device in which each of the inner surfaces of the upper housing portion and the lower housing portion is in a closed state in which the inner surfaces are closely contacted or in which the inner surfaces are separated from each other, the upper housing portion and the lower side An opening and closing mechanism that rotates one of the housings to bring the closed state or the open state, and drives the opening and closing mechanism so that the upper housing and the lower housing are closed or closed. A driving unit for setting one of the open states, an incoming call detecting unit, and when receiving a notification of the incoming call detection by the incoming call detecting unit,
A foldable portable communication device, characterized in that the driving means has a control means for controlling the driving means so that the upper housing part and the lower housing part are opened by the opening / closing mechanism. 2. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication end detecting unit, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit in response to the communication end notification from the communication end detecting unit. The foldable portable communication device according to claim 1, wherein the body and the lower housing are closed. 3. The driving means comprises a motor whose rotation direction is controlled in accordance with the polarity of a driving current, wherein the opening / closing mechanism comprises a first gear having a central shaft fixed to a motor shaft of the motor; A second gear that is formed on a part of the upper housing, rotates integrally with the rotation of the upper housing, and meshes with the first gear; When a notification of the incoming call detection is received by the incoming call detection means, a drive current is supplied to the motor and the polarity of the drive current is changed by the rotation of the motor through the first and second gears. 2. The foldable portable communication device according to claim 1, wherein the foldable portable communication device is a means for controlling a value to be rotated in a direction away from the lower housing unit with respect to the unit. 4. The control means has an open / close detection sensor for detecting an open / close state of the upper housing and the lower housing, wherein the upper housing is provided with respect to the lower housing. 4. The foldable portable communication device according to claim 3, wherein the supply of the drive current to the motor is stopped based on a detection signal output from the open / close detection sensor when the motor is opened to a predetermined position. 5. The foldable portable communication device according to claim 2, wherein said communication end detecting means is means for detecting pressing of an on-hook key. 6. The control means has a power supply circuit for generating the drive current, and a secondary battery connected to the motor via the power supply circuit is provided. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the secondary battery is charged by rotating the motor when the motor rotates.
A foldable portable communication device as described.